Greetings,
gamers, and welcome back to Retrogaming Times Monthy. First off I want
to thank all of you who sent in e-mail praising our work. Looks like
everyone enjoyed the first issue, so we hope to keep it up for as long
as we can.

Down
to business. It's summertime again and that means spending lots of time
inside playing your game collection. But this year isn't just any
summer, it's time once again for the Olympic Summer Games, which comes
around once every four years. And that means Olympic video games.
Throughout the years just about every system has been blessed with a
couple of Olympic-style video games. For the next two issues many of
our articles will focus on Olympic and Summer sports games. We'll
tackle just about any type of Olympic or Summer sport game for many of
the great systems of yesteryear. The great things about these games is
that you can have your own version of the Summer Olympics on your old
game machines whenever you want, and you won't have to travel to Athens
to do it.

Also,
we're debuting a pair of new writers talking about other systems that
don't get much coverage. First we have Mark Sabbatini, who's going to
write about the Radio Shack Color Computer, which some of you probably
have memories of. Plus every month Gary Pierce is going to review a
game for the Sega Master System.

With
that out of the way, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

The Many Faces of ... Track & Field

by Alan Hewston

This
month we begin our tribute to the Summer Olympic Games, beginning with
the 1983 arcade hit "Track & Field" (outside the US it is known as
"Hyper Olympic"). This game will surely give you a workout and make you
tired. Interestingly it was the first arcade game to combine multiple sporting events
into one machine. Even better, for every event, it tracks all the player's
scores and the top three scores (World Record's) using three letter
initials. Up to 4 players (2 are simultaneous) can play the same game,
bashing away at those "run" buttons AFAP (as fast as possible). This
made an awful lot of noise - easily heard across the arcade floor. Good
quotes to acknowledge - from The
Arcade Classics Museum "The game became the sweatiest arcade title
since Atari's Football in 1978, as players would literally pound on the
"Track & Field" control panel like a crazed bongo player on No-Doz.
While operators might not have liked arcade patrons beating the heck
out of their machines, they couldn't argue with the tremendous earnings
the machine produced."

Each
game begins by players entering their 3 letters or initials to
distinguish them from other opponents. Each of the six events are played
in sequence, but only by those players who qualify in the preceding
event. The game ends once you fail to qualify for any event. After
completing all 6 events, the requirements to qualify become more
difficult for the next round. Contestants only get one attempt (heat)
for the track (running) events, but in the field events your best score
of three attempts counts towards your score or qualifying. You view the
action slightly elevated and from the side of a stadium that is filled
with fans. As you run, the track, the stadium walls and fans will
scroll providing some depth perception. The walls have flags from
several countries.

Here's an arcade shot of the Long
Jump.

The
panel has controls for two players, whereby each player has a pair of
"run" buttons and one button for a combined "jump/throw" action. 1)
100m Dash: great warm-up event, alternate hitting both "run" buttons
repeatedly AFAP, 2) Long Jump: build up your speed as in the 100m and
maximize it just before the foul line, then hold the "jump/throw" button to
jump, then release at desired angle [~45 is optimal], 3) Javelin: same
as Long Jump [~42 is optimal], 4) 110m Hurdles: "run" AFAP & time
each "jump/throw" to hurdle. 5) Hammer Throw: a close-up top view of
the contestant who rotates faster & faster on his own, simply time
the release (when he's red) and hold the "jump/throw" button [~45 is
optimal], and once released we see an aerial view, 6) High Jump: runs up to
bar on his own, hit "jump/throw" button to begin jump before hitting
bar, hit/hold "jump/throw" button to decrease angle of climb [start
straight up - i.e. 90 deg].

The
crowd instantaneously applauds every effort that equals or betters the
qualification requirements. World Records are also recognized the same
way. Conclusion of each event/game shows the winner & scores.

Initially
the timing of when you hit the "jump/throw" button is the most critical
element, but at higher levels you'll need to max the speed, angle and
timing of the "jump/throw". Judges will shoot starting pistols, wave
flags if you foul, and measure and record your performance. There are
some hidden easter eggs - i.e. a Javelin throw off the top of the screen
brings down a 1000 bonus point bird; the High Jump: Fail the first two
jumps and then clear on the final leap and a mole burrows up for a 1000
bonus; Long jump: Three jumps with same result earns a 1000 bonus; 100m
dash: same time for both players awards 1000 bonus each. BUG: In
Javelin, throwing over 100m will cause a counter to wraparound - thus a
100.12m throw will be logged as 0.12m (and will not qualify you)!

Home
Version Similarities: Except those in <> all home versions
have: 3 letter initials & keep World Records for each event
<2600> and for the final score <2600, 8 bit>; 2 players run
simultaneously in the same heat ; all six arcade events
are included in the correct sequence; the screen displays player 1 as a
character, their initials, score, qualification or foul indicators,
their current speed, a speed bar, and results from the current event;
these are all repeated for player 2, who has a slightly different
appearance; spectators cheer and wave frantically each time you
qualify; World Records are immediately recognized; a message display
shows the current time and/or the score or angle; the requirements to
"qualify" are displayed for the current event; measurement numbers or
at least hash marks are placed along the track & field. There are
3+ starting settings for difficulty, and
more throughout the game. The original Atari title was "Los Angeles
1984 Games". No version appears to have the easter eggs.

Track & Field Controller
We cannot start this event without first mentioning the rugged Track
& Field home controller. This item came packaged with every version
(unsure of Apple ][) and thus made for a higher price tag. This was
probably well worth it, as it not only saved you from destroying your
favorite joystick but also added to effect that you were at the arcade
- bashing the controller. Granted, the home controllers were not big
enough to satisfy everyone, but they were twice the size of the
standard 2600 controller. This controller can be used on many games,
but is most useful on games like Activision's "Decathlon".

Gotta get yourself 2 T&F controllers for multi-players.

Disqualified: MSX & Sinclair
Spectrum (N/A)
DQ is only because I do not have these systems but here is some info on
the Sinclair version.

The
instruction manual verifies that all six events and the sequence match
the arcade. There are 4 levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Difficult
or Awesome; plus select either the whole game or single event - an
option to repeat the same event over and over. Keyboard or Joystick
options.

Have Nots: Apple ][ (36)
My first reaction was confusion as to how to jump & throw. It took
many tries but finally I discovered that moving the joystick left
activates this function. Using just 1 joystick button or 1 Apple key
will increase your speed (i.e. the "run" buttons) but using any 2 like
you do on other versions will ALWAYS will make your speed decrease.
Thus, the controls are a little bit awkward, but still sharp (8). Now
that I am writing this review, my diskette will no longer load the
Javelin. I do not recall any problems or differences in gameplay that
would make me change these scores. The Gameplay is all there and
outstanding (9), including 4 skill levels, 4 players, and even a choice
of 3 "handicaps", where 1=arcade. This is the only version with judges
waving a flag, but also the only version that has no event name on
screen. Instead, the event name is displayed just prior, during the
disk loading. Addictiveness is respectable (6) where the pause button helps,
but all activity (displaying scores, world records and music) is slow
between every attempt/event. This also seems to be the hardest version
to qualify for events in general, but that might be the controls
problem. The final straw - frustration - is that there is disk access
before EVERY event (yawn) subtract 2 pts. The Graphics are effective
(7) with all the elements in place, but there's not that much color,
detail, or animation. The scrolling is quite good and does not lead to
problems. Sound is decent (6) with some music (chariots of fire played
on the high score page) and there's a pseudo crowd cheer along with
pretty much all the effects. But as usual - the internal sound takes
away from all audio effects. It's somewhat hard to find this title, and
is on Diskette only. I could not confirm if Atari made and packaged a
Track & Field controller for the AP2.

Have Nots: Atari 2600 (40)
My First reaction - quite amazed the 2600 can field and track
everything required from this very demanding arcade game. It does it
all & more, by including all 6 events, with 3 different levels and just
about everything graphically from the arcade is displayed on-screen.
There's even a brief demo of the first 2 events. The Gameplay is
remarkable (9) with everything in place - unfortunately limited to only
2 players - but they run simultaneously. Despite no pause, the
Addictiveness is very enjoyable (8). The game moves right along so you
will not be bored, nor take too long to play a round. The ending is
blindingly fast - in 5 seconds it's over - but after the demo, you can
see your score again. Graphics are good (6), just a little bit blocky.
This was a tough one to score and I wanted to give it a 7, since all
11+ graphical displays & areas items are all there from the arcade.
But most of the text is out of proportion or misplaced a bit. Overall
it's bright, colorful, fast, has some detail, adequate animation and the
scrolling is effective. Sound is very good (7) with nice music when the
game starts and an OK crowd cheer. footfalls, gun sounds and most
effects are in place. Controls are perfect (10) with either a Track
& Field controller or a standard 2600 controller. This cart's a bit
rare fetching around $25 & about $17 for the T&F controller.

Silver Medal: Atari 5200 & Atari 8
Bit Computers (42)
My first reaction is too bad a 5200 cart was never released as the game
appears to be complete in every way, sadly it was scrapped before production
began. Grab a 5200 multi-cart or ROM and an emulator to play this
version - or just play the 8 bit version as these two are identical.
All scores and nearly all comments apply to both versions. The Gameplay
is fantastic (9) with everything in place including a full demo. The
Apple and Commodore versions have slightly better options. Here you are
limited to a choice of 1 or 2 players and that is it. There are no
starting skill settings, but the default setting is a fairly easy game
with qualification levels varied, but ranging somewhere between skill
levels 1 & 2 on the 64. You do get simultaneous two-player action,
but the track events have a minor difference in the starting sequence
so be careful. Also of note is the power bar has no defined maximum or
any hash marks, so you are never quite sure what level you are at. I
guess one could put a piece of tape up there at the assumed maximum
position, so you have something to shoot for. This power bar problem is
minor, but helps to drop the Addictiveness score down to (7) very fun.
There is a pause [space bar] or [pause], and you get some help if
playing 2 players, and sometimes even when playing one player as the
game does not always end when you fail to qualify. For two players, as
long as one player qualifies, both players move on to the next event -
this is actually more fun this way. There's no need to steal our
quarter and be stringent like the arcade - after all, this is a home
version. Bad news is that there is one huge gameplay difference from
the others that makes these versions much harder to play and quite
frustrating. Instead of the running action ending as soon as one hits
the "jump/throw" button, the running activity is not completed until
the angle is finalized - i.e. the "jump/throw" button has been released.
This is terrible as you now have to guess where to start your
jump/throw well before you hit the foul line. That distance in front
must be guessed as the distance traveled from the time you press the
jump/throw button until you release it at the desired angle. ARGGGGGG!
This is really cruel, but at least it affects everyone equally, and on
every such event, even the high jump. Yep the high jump you have a
shimmy/shake in the scrolling as the point that you hit the button is
not where you plant and takeoff. There's just no way for you to "stick"
a jump/throw - so clearly you'll quit playing this version sooner and
move on to the gold medal winner - if you have it. Then there is the
Hammer throw. Where am I supposed to release the hammer? I tried
everything and it is not consistent and is not when the athlete turns
red, as is the case on the other versions. I've fouled three times when
in the red and got no points, but still advanced to the next event -
possibly the programmer feeling sorry for me that the event is so
poorly done. Graphics are all there and beautiful (8), but there is
less detail and less color than the 64. The scrolling is weak and
particularly crummy for the Hurdles, the event where smooth scrolling
is most critical. About 10 to 15% of the screen is all the warning you
get for the next hurdle. Sound is all there and very fine (8), but they
did not add in any music after each round, nor any high score screen
and music. Controls are perfect (10), but see below.

For
the 5200 - the T&F controller works great with the Masterplay
Interface, but this is probably not going to work for 2 players. How
many collectors have 2 Masterplay Interfaces? Anyhow, using analog
(standard 5200) controllers is NOT an option here, so you better at
least have a Wico controller.

For
the 8 bit computer, this version is available on disk and cart (but a
bit rare at $18).

Finally,
maybe the disk version that I have is the 5200 ported over (and it is
not complete) and the 8 bit cart version is different and more complete,
and better. I dunno, but if so, the 8 Atari Bit version could gain back
a couple more points lost to the above bugs.

Gold Medal: Commodore 64 (45)
My first reaction was this deserves a higher score. But compared to all
other Many Faces titles, it ranks about where it should, if anything
maybe a point too high. The graphics are nice, but there's really not a
lot of fine detail or lots of animation, or many objects moving
simultaneously. The music and effects are nice but limited and there's
no pause, and then high scores are NOT saved to disk like other Olympic
type games. Gameplay is all there (9) missing only a demo, and there's
no handicapping like the Apple.

A
quirk in this version is that after completing the first 4
difficulty levels (rounds) you move on to a 5th qualification set, and
at that point, despite higher levels, you do not need to meet them to
move on to the next event. If you place a score (even a low one) that
may be good enough. If you foul 3 times or fail to qualify on a track
event, then the game usually ends. This 6th qualification level is the
same as the 5th, and probably ad infinitum. Looks like a game that can
be marathoned. I've only made it this far on this version, so the
others may be flawed as well. Addictiveness is fantastic (9) enhanced
by a unique practice mode, where you can select an individual event and
skill level. The game moves along quickly and the music and in between
event activity is fairly quick. Graphics are wonderful (9) and clearly
a step above the Atari, but probably more like an 8.5. Sound is the
best on this version with all the music and effects - quite pleasant
(8) - but still not a step above the Atari. Controls are perfect (10).
Available only on diskette. Suggestion: The C64 version CIB may be the
cheapest way to get a T&F controller - for use on any of these
systems.

Other
notes:
There was both a stand up and cocktail version of the arcade machine,
with later versions being fitted with a track ball - making the action
much quieter than smashing the 2 Run buttons. I wonder if the home
versions could be modified to use the track ball as well?

In
Australia during the early 1980's there were really only two consoles
worth owning according to the majority of teenagers - the Atari 2600
and the Commodore 64. Sure we still had other consoles such as the Colecovision, Intellivision and Vectrex, but their popularity was very
small compared to the Atari and Commodore machines. In my high school
the vast majority of kids had either an Atari 2600 or a Commodore 64. A
few others, such as myself, had Vic 20s. But I honestly didn't know a
single person who owned an Intellivision or a Colecovision. While
everyone wished they had a Vectrex, I only knew of two people who had
one back in the day.

Today
the popularity of the Atari 2600 and the Commodore 64 continues strong
with the retro gaming collectors. These are by far the most collected
classic systems. I have lived in 4 different cities or towns, in three
different states, since becoming an avid collector. In that time I have
rarely missed getting around to the garage sales or markets. By far the
most common classic gaming items I constantly find are Atari 2600s and
Commodore 64s.

THE COMMODORE 64
The popularity of the Commodore 64 is nothing unique to Australia. It
seems like this brilliant machine was incredibly popular just about
everywhere in the world. But one of the biggest differences,
particularly between the Australian scene and the US scene, is the
amount of games that came on tape. Tape software was certainly the
prevalent format for a long time throughout the mid 1980's. Disk drives
were very expensive here in Australia, costing as much if not more than
the computer itself. So the majority of owners of Commodore 64's simply
settled for the trusty (and extremely slow) C2N dataset.

The
price of games on tape were quite a bit cheaper than disks. Full price
games from the big software houses were cheaper on tape by around a
half. But it was the budget scene that really drove the popularity of
tapes. Companies such as Mastertronic and Kixx released heaps of games
priced at a very low $8 to $15. This was well within the range of many
teenager's pocket money. You could easily save up for three or four
weeks and buy a new game.

However,
it was the huge popularity of tape software that initially turned me
off the Commodore 64. As a Vic 20 owner I was used to games loading in
2 to 5 minutes. My cousin had a Commodore 64 and a copy of Pitstop 2.
It would literally take over 20 minutes to load. I just didn't have the
patience. Well it seems that collectors today don't have the patience
either. Tape software is considered just about useless. Every Commodore
64 collector that I personally know only collects disk or cartridge
games.

During
the reign of the Commodore 64, Australia received a lot of excellent
magazines from the UK. Some of these magazines are now very
collectable. The most popular and most sought after magazine by
collectors is the mighty Zzap 64. Zzap 64 is a great magazine. At one
stage it became the most popular computer games magazine in the UK. It
helped set standards that are still followed today. Mint condition Zzap
64 magazines can fetch a very handsome price on eBay. Later in the
magazine's life they came with a cover-mounted cassette. The cassette
had a mix of demos and full games. Mint magazines complete with the
cover-mounted cassette fetch premium prices. This could be the only
example of cassette software being collectable - but I think it has a
lot more to do with having a complete magazine collection. Two other
very popular Commodore magazines are Commodore Format and Commodore
User.

THE ATARI 2600
In the "olden days", simple Pong units were reasonably popular, but
people seemed to grow bored of these pretty quickly. When the Atari
2600 was originally released it was just too expensive and only very
rich kids owned one. The Atari was seen as being pretty cool, but the
games weren't all that much better than the Pong units. But when Atari
wised up and began releasing games such as Space Invaders, Asteroids
and Defender, well everyone just had to have an Atari 2600. Owning an
Atari 2600 was a huge boast and sent you straight to the top as
"coolest kid in the class".

Around
1982 a big price drop and a four game bundle (Space Invaders,
Asteroids, Berzerk and Missile Command) sent sales of the Atari 2600
through the roof. It was at this time that one of my cousins bought one
of these packs. I was in my first year of high school at the time. My
cousin was a lot older than me and was unemployed at the time. Every
lunch time I would ride my bike to his house and we would spend way too
long playing the Atari. Often I just wouldn't return to school after
lunch. Of course the teachers caught up on this and I spent quite a few
lunch times in detention. This was agony considering I could have been
using my lunch time for much better things, such as being around at my
cousins trying to beat his high score on Asteroids.

The
Atari 2600 remained very popular in Australia throughout the 1980's.
The introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega
Master System didn't seem to dent the popularity of the Atari 2600.
Everyone knew the Nintendo and Sega consoles had much better graphics
and sound, but the Atari was just so much cheaper.

By
the end of the 1980's some excellent box sets and multi-carts were
being released by HES (Home Entertainment Supplies). Four or five
excellent games from companies like Activision, Parker Bros and Imagic
were bundled together by HES and sold for around the regular price of a
single game. This was an excellent value and they sold by the truck load.

By
the early 90's most people had moved on to 16 bit consoles and
computers. But Atari had one more move up their sleeve. The price of
the 2600 jr. was dropped to an incredibly low $49. It certainly didn't
seriously challenge the new SNES or Megadrive, but it was surprising to
see how many Atari's were still sold.

The
Atari 2600 is arguably the most collected system of all in Australia.
The majority of collectors I know name the Atari 2600 as their number
one system. A boxed six switch woody can regularly fetch around $100 on
eBay. Any model Atari 2600 with a good selection of games can also
fetch up towards $100.

• If
you have fond memories watching the cult Disney film Tron, then get
ready for some handheld Tron action. This fall Buena Vista Interactive
is releasing Tron 2.0: Killer App for the Game Boy Advance. This cart
features 30 levels of action from the original movie, with
disc-throwing, tank driving, light-cycle riding and more, plus several
multiplayer modes. But the best part is (wait for it) this game will
feature both Tron arcade games included. That's right, both Tron
and Discs of Tron can be unlocked for play on your GBA, making
this the first ever home version of both arcade coin-ops.

• For
those of you readers in the mid-America area, get ready for the second
annual Oklahoma Gaming Exhibition, which will be held on September 18,
2004 at the Marriot Southern Hills Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Much like
other classic gaming shows, the OKGE is a gathering of collectors, video
game enthusiasts, and vendors coming together in one place to show,
trade, buy, sell, and have a great time! They promise an even bigger
show than last year's successful expo. For all the info including times
and admission, visit the OKGE Website at http://ivorytower.emuviews.com/okge/.

• The
organizers of the Classic Computer and Gaming Show have announced that
the 4th annual CCAG show will be held at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church
in Mentor, Ohio on October 23rd. The show runs from 4:30 PM to 10:30 PM,
and admission is free for everybody. Dealer space is also free, but
space is limited. More information can be found at the CCAG website at http://www.ccagshow.com/

MAME Reviews

by Brett "smsforce" Burnell

Time
to do some more MAME reviews! This month, being dedicated to the
Olympics, I will be reviewing two of my personal favorite games,
Konami/Centuri's Track & Field and Hyper Sports.
Hopefully next month, I can squeeze in one of the other two "free"
games as well. Now, on to the show! The first game I will review is Track
& Field.

Track
& Field is an Olympic "event" game following in the footsteps
of the Epyx great, Summer Games. In this game four
players (two simultaneously) can compete in six events for the
Championship. The six events are 100m Dash, Long Jump, Javelin, 110m
Hurdles, Hammer Throw, and High Jump. The controls are 2 buttons to
"run" (hit them as fast as you can) and an action button (to jump or
throw). Later versions of the game came with a trackball for running.
The cocktail versions allowed all 4 players a spot to watch the action.
The screen would "flip" when players 3 and 4 were up.

Some
secrets to the game are as follows:

100m
Dash: Player one and player two getting the same time will award a
1,000-point bonus (I think it's the guy from Tutankham).

Long
jump: Three jumps with the same result will award a 1,000-point bonus.

Javelin:
Throw the javelin off the top of the screen to bring down a bird for a
1,000-point bonus.

110m
Hurdles: Player one and player two getting the same time will award a
1,000-point bonus.

High
Jump: Fail the first two jumps and then qualify. A mole burrows up to
award a 1,000-point bonus.

Strategies
that have helped me in the game are as follows. In the Long Jump, jump
off of the foul line (without fouling) and aim for a 45-degree angle.
The angle for throwing in the Hammer Throw is 45 degrees as well. The
optimal angle in the Javelin is 42 degrees. In the High Jump, be sure
to continue to run after you jump to increase your player's height.
There is also a known "bug" in the Javelin event. If you throw farther
than 100 meters, the distance will reset to 0. For example, if you
throw 100.12m, the game will credit you with 0.12m and you will not
qualify.

I
love this game. Between this and Hyper Sports, I think
I may have single-handedly kept Konami in business. The background
graphics are pretty generic and all four of the contestants look
exactly the same other than hair, clothes, and skin color. The sounds
are very good and I give Konami credit for getting the rights to the
"Chariots of Fire" theme song. It works very well in this game. Playing
this game will get you a lot of blisters and get you very tired. To
make the game more fun, set the dipswitch to continue at the end of the
events. The only thing that happens is the qualifying distances and
times become harder. If you want to make the game a lot easier, use the
"Run Like H***" cheat in MAME. I won't tell you how to bring it up, but
it sure is fun. Overall, I'd say it's a blast to play and only gets
better with 2, 3, or 4 players.FINAL SCORE: 8.5/10

Track
& Field Trivia:
This game was licensed to Centuri for U.S. manufacturing and
distribution. Outside of the U.S., the game is called Hyper Olympic,
but the board is the same. Sequels to this game are Hyper Sports
(below) and '88 Games (next month's issue).

Hyper
Sports is not only an Olympic "event" game in the same vein as Track
& Field; it's the sequel to it! As in Track & Field,
four players (two simultaneously) can compete in seven events for the
Championship. The seven events are 100m Freestyle (Swimming), Skeet
Shooting, Long Horse, Archery, Triple Jump, Weight Lifting, and Pole
Vault. Controls are 2 buttons to "run" (hit them as fast as you can)
and an action button.

Some
secrets to the game are as follows:

100m
Freestyle: In two-player mode, get the exact same time for player one
and player two and two turtles will appear to award each player a
3,000-point bonus.

Skeet
Shooting: If you have hit everything, on the last skeet, shoot it on
the opposite side it came out of for a 3,000-5,000 point bonus and a
chance to hit a bird for 1,000 points a hit bonus.

Long
Horse: Do a ½ flip (it will show a "1") and land exactly on top of your
head for a 3,000-point bonus.

Archery:
Hit a "bulls eye" for a 600-point bonus and an audio "Nice!". Getting 8
bulls eyes gets you a 5,000-point bonus.

Weight
Lifting: Hit the two run buttons at exactly the same time as the
barbell hits the ground to receive a 3,000-point bonus from the
cheerleaders.

Pole
Vault: Clear the bar with max speed (hit the pole in at the far edge)
to receive a 1,000-point bonus from a mole. Every time after that
doubles your bonus, (2,000/4,000/8,000) but they must be in a row or it
reverts back to 1,000.

Strategies
that have helped me in the game are as follows. In the Triple Jump,
jump off of the foul line (without fouling) and aim for a
41/43/45-degree angle(s). In Archery, you can press a button to get the
wind to stop. To get a good shot, shoot about the time the bulls eye
gets to the bottom of the close up box and aim for 5.0 to 5.4 degrees.
A 9,800 is possible!

I
really love this game. The background graphics are slightly
better than Track & Field but still suffer from the "generic" look.
Once again, all four of the contestants look exactly the same other
than hair, clothes, and skin color. The sounds are very good and I love
the audio snippets included with this game. Once again, they used the
"Chariots of Fire" theme song. Lots of credit goes to Konami for the
intermissions between the long horse/archery events and at the end of
the game/restart of the events. To make the game more fun, set the
dipswitch and the "Run Like H***" cheat in MAME like I stated above for
Track & Field. Overall, It's hours of fun and a great party game.FINAL SCORE: 9/10

Hyper
Sports Trivia:
This game was licensed to Centuri for U.S. manufacturing and
distribution. It is also called Hyper Olympics '84. This game
and Track & Field have interchangeable boards. The sequel
to this game is '88 Games (next month's issue) and the prequel
is Track & Field (above).

Brett Burnell is an Applications Developer for the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In his free time he can be seen
programming video games, being a referee for Twin Galaxies, going to
Retrogaming shows, or just playing with his kids. His official website
is at http://www.smsforce.com/.
He can be reached at smsforce@smsforce.com.

Retrogaming Commercial Vault

by Adam King

Welcome
back to the Retrogaming Commercial Vault. With our focus on Olympic
Games this month, I tried to find some sort of sports commercials.
Unfortunately I nearly came up empty; for some reason I couldn't find
any 80s Olympic and Sports commercials that I haven't already done.
Fortunately I did find one commercial about Atari sports games. This
month will only have one commercial, so don't worry; you'll still get
your monthly Commercials fix.

This
month is a general commercial for Activision games, one of only three
companies to make sports games for the 2600. This ad features a game
player enjoying the Activision titles Skiing, Tennis, and Grand Prix. As
he's playing, we get glimpses of him doing those sports for real. Talk
about getting into the game.

PICTURES:

"Make way for THE Atari Athlete"

Whee! We're skiing now!

"Cool! It's snowing in my room!"

"Whew. Beating the CPU in
Tennis is hard."

Don't hold the button down too
long, or you'll blow the engine.

I actually did real sports with
my Atari. This is awesome!

I
should mention the tagline at the end of this ad is "We put YOU in the
game." This ad has shown they can do just that!

Sorry
for the short 'Vault' this month. Hopefully by next month I have some
more Sports game commercials for your viewing pleasure. Don't forget
the Retrogaming Commercial Vault is still available for purchase.
E-mail me at Hal_3000@rocketmail.com
for all the details. If you've e-mailed me and I haven't responded as of
yet, I may have lost your e-mail, so try contacting me again.

(Author's
note: This is a look at the relatively few officially licensed arcade
and other games for the Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer, along with
some thoughts on how they stack up against versions on competing
computers and consoles. Because there were so few, a separate article
will look at the best - and a few pitiful - "unlicensed" versions and
how they stack up against the licensed competition. Perhaps that's a
bit unfair since other platforms also had unlicensed games that clearly
were better than the licensed versions, but what does anyone have to
lose except time? And speaking of losing time, you can play many of the
games mentioned here and other CoCo titles for free online at Brad
Grier's Mocha site at http://members.cox.net/javacoco/).

That,
of course, is one of the main reasons there aren't a lot of officially
licensed "Trash-80" titles - it spent most of its life in the shadows
of the heavyweights such as the Commodore's, Apple's and Atari's. I
suffered a pretty consistent stream of joystick envy as a youth
watching everyone else get titles from Robotron to Wizardry. The list of
games I missed - Miner 2049'er, Castle Wolfenstein, Zork, Lode Runner,
Defender, Choplifter!, the entire Pac family, etc., etc. - I couldn't
even begin to complete here.

That's
the price you pay for remaining loyal to a computer outsold 30-to-1 by
the Commodore 64.

Those
kind of numbers aren't going to appeal to gaming companies with an eye
on the bottom line, something I suffer through nowadays as a Mac owner.
Programmers also probably were less than thrilled with the idea of
cranking out attractive games for a machine whose graphics and sound
capabilities trailed much of the competition. Tandy didn't help matters
by trying to keep CoCo software development in-house as much as
possible, a disastrous concept that helped sink Texas Instruments and
other less notable home machines as well.

Still,
a handful of officially licensed titles did eventually make it into
stores and catalogues. Figuring the CoCo at least deserves the chance
to run the race, the following are reviews of the CoCo's licensed
titles using an A through F grading system from my reviews Web site (http://www.icepeople.net/coco/index.html),
along with my best SWAG (Scientific Wild-Aft Guess) of where they might
have finished in the "Many Faces Of" competition.

From
the start I'll admit the CoCo doesn't have a prayer of knocking any
gold medal winners off their thrones. In fact, the primary suspense is
whether it wins any medals at all. Surely the Trash-80 must have been
able to shine or at least bypass a leader who stumbled at least once...

Dallas
Quest Adventure (D-)

UGH! Look up the phrase "this stinks" in any dictionary and
there's a good chance you'll see a screenshot of this game next to it.
This easily is one of the worst and most overrated adventures of all
time. How on Earth did this ever manage to become a popular game -
across several computer platforms no less? Nothing except the
OK-for-the-times graphics works in this so-called comedy-mystery
adventure. Instead of wandering around exploring, you basically get
stuck in a horribly stupid linear plot where you don't go more than a
screen or two without solving some puzzle that makes absolutely no
logical sense at all. At least half of the time the solution is the
same - offer a monkey who accompanies you some tobacco from a pouch and
he'll do some utterly ridiculous thing to save you (if your boat is
leaking, he'll use his tail to block the hole; if you're stuck in a
certain room he locates a trap door for you - it's like some horrible
"Bonzo" movie I saw where the chimp started off rescuing little Timothy
from the edge of a cliff by screeching and eventually ends up rescuing
the family at the end of the movie by flying them out of a war zone in
an airplane he steals). No thought at all spent on the puzzles.

And when it's time to move on, often a single innocent "misstep"
puts you in a trap you can't get out of. In other words, if the story
says "obvious" paths go north and south, and you choose south, you may
end up stuck in a jungle with no means of escape - not the result of a
bad decision, just INSANELY BAD PROGRAMMING to try to make a pathetic
game more "challenging." The ending is totally ridiculous and frankly I
can't believe I played it that long. I think I was irked at the $40
price tag and felt I had to get my money's worth. Don't go near this
one unless you're the type that also uses
webpagesthatsuck.com to
figure out what you shouldn't be putting on your Web pages.

"Many Faces Of" ranking: Have Not - but are there really
any winners when it comes to a game like this? If I gave it a number
grade it'd probably be in the low teens, but I dislike it so much I
don't feel I can even do that objectively.

Demon Attack (B)

This is one of those rare home video game classics where the CoCo
actually got an official conversion. I remember being blown away by it
when it came out on the Atari 2600 - it's nothing but a basic space
shooter, but was incredibly well done for a VCS title - and I was ready
to buy it on sight when the RAM pack showed on the shelves of the local
Radio Shack. Except the box said 32K was required and at the time I was
stuck with a measly 16K. So it wasn't until many months later, after
getting a 64K machine, I was able to try the game out. And guess what?
The actual requirements are a 16K machine (the sticker on the outside
was incorrect). I wonder how many sales Radio Shack lost with this
screw-up, which was never corrected.

The game can't be any simpler: Guide your ship along the bottom
of the screen and destroy waves of aliens shooting at you from above.
Starting with the third wave they split in two when hit and start
diving toward you when one of the "split" enemies is hit. And every
third screen you get a chance to take out a massive mother ship that
keeps spewing out little demons - a feature first included on the
Intellivision and preserved on most later versions for the more
"advanced" platforms.

This is a long ways from the most advanced or sophisticated game
on the planet; it's just simple, well-executed fun. Too bad that's a
concept that all too often gets lost in the desire to be flashier,
bigger and (not really) better.

"Many Faces Of" rating: Bronze Medal (43). Wow - this
came a lot sooner than I might have thought, but a lack of competitors
leads to an early medal. The CoCo version won't knock the Atari 8-bit
or 2600 versions from their platforms, but is strong enough to replace
the Vic-20 incarnation for third. It's pretty much better in all
aspects, although there might be some legitimate discussion of graphics
quality due to the CoCo's limited color scheme, but the addition of the
mothership level is the decisive factor.

Dragonfire (C+)

Lots of people rave about this Imagic game in its various
incarnations, ranging from the Atari 2600 to the Commodore machines,
but I simply have never found it all that interesting. There are two
levels: On the first you run across a bridge dodging fireballs along
the way, in the second you gather treasures from a room while avoiding
the flames of a fire-breathing dragon. The screens progress rapidly and
I find it rather repetitive, but it's probably not fair to be too hard
on a game just because it doesn't suit my tastes.

This conversion is fine if you're a fan of the game and it even
has one notable CoCo achievement: Due to some clever split-screen
programming, it manages to get eight true colors on the screen at once.
Basically half of a color set is used in the upper half of the screen,
while another appears in the lower half. This may be the only title
able to claim this, but if I'm wrong I'm sure somebody will set me
straight.

"Many Faces Of" rating: Have Not (36). This might have
been another CoCo victory over the Vic-20 for the bronze, but in the
end the Vic gets the nod, since it has random gameplay elements the
CoCo lacks, thus making the former more interesting to play.

Frogger (C)

This enormously popular arcade game has been ported to just about
every platform imaginable, generally with excellent results. Oddly, the
most negative reviews seem to come from versions on the so-called
latest and greatest machines like the PC and Playstation, as
programmers take a delightfully simple game and try to turn it into a
3-D extravaganza with horrible results. On retro machines, even the
humblest machines shine - the Atari 2600 version is one of that
system's best conversions of any of its arcade games and even the
incredibly humble ZX81 has a pretty interesting version, even if the
ultra-low-res, black-and-white, totally silent game has to be split
into two screens to fit everything in.

All this preamble is for a reason: With so many great versions,
it's an utter shame that the CoCo folks put out such a lame version.
It's in lower-res graphics, a bit pokey and just doesn't feel as much
fun as other versions. It's not bad - most of the arcade elements are
there, eventhough the background music that plays such a big part of
the original's charm isn't possible here. But a lot of phrases like
ho-hum, mediocre and so on come to mind. Luckily there are better,
non-official versions out there.

"Many Faces Of" rating: Have Not. Almost certainly would
trail way back in the pack...if this game had actually been featured.
But unless I missed it (always possible), I didn't see a comparison of
this game. But figuring a large number of versions from the Commodore
64 to the Atari 2600 managed to turn out games that looked and played
better, there's no way the CoCo would come near a top-three rating.

Gwana Bwana (C+)

When even the instructions make a game sound tedious, that's not
a good sign. This scrolling platform/shooter has the distinction of
getting officially ported to about as many computer and video game
platforms as any title in existence - and in virtually every case the
reviews range from mediocre to awful. I have no idea why this game was
pushed so hard, but like Canyon Climber, Dallas Quest and a few other
mediocre Datasoft titles it apparently managed to achieve some level of
commercial success simply through persistent marketing.

You navigate your guy through eight stages (misleading really,
since half of them are basically the same screen repeated over and over
- one of the many frustrations with this title). In some you're trying
to get through a pseudo 3-D environment to some location on the screen;
in others you need to shoot or avoid stuff coming at you on a
Zaxxon-like scrolling field - but with nowhere near the graphics, speed
or playability of the more-esteemed space-shooter. In theory, the game
might have had promise. In reality, it can be interesting for a while
to see what the next screen is - and some of them are interesting
(hence an overall passing grade) - but in the end it has no real
staying power.

Every version seems to have its flaws, ranging from terrible 3-D
portrayal to awful gameplay. The CoCo suffers from tepid graphics, slow
movement and almost no sound. And having every other screen repeat
itself is a terrible idea when it's perhaps the most boring screen of
the game - even the cartoon character in the instructions complains
about having to navigate the canyon so many times. Like I said, bad
sign.

"Many Faces Of" rating: Have Not. In truth, there seem
to be no winners when it comes to this game - almost every version
seems rather awful. In this case, the CoCo gets bypassed for the odd
reason that it offers more than some of the medal finishers - but
because those extra screens are so dull they actually detract from the
game.

8-bit Face-Off

by Adam King

Welcome back to the ongoing Nintendo vs. Sega battle I call the
8-bit Face-Off. With our focus on Summer Sports this month, I decided
that this month will be dedicated to California Games. This game,
created by Epyx, was the latest in the "Games" series, which included
Winter Games, Summer Games, and others. Orignally released on the
Commodore 64 in 1987, California Games was a big hit, so it was ported
to a number of platforms. It was even made into one of those VCR Board
Games. Both the NES and Sega systems received ports of the game in the
US, with both having almost the same features.

This game is a sports competition set in California (hence the
title). You can tell because when you start it up the title screen
starts playing "Louie, Louie." Up to eight players can play on either
system, taking turns one at a time. There are six events to go through,
each in a different California location. You have the option of going
through all or some of the events, and you can practice them. Before
you can compete, though, you have to first register your name and pick
a sponsor of some well-known surfing brand.

The
first event is the Half-Pipe. You ride a skateboard back and
forth on a u-shaped ramp and try to do tricks at the top of each
side. You have 1 minute and 15 seconds to score as many points as you
can. Be careful about making your turns, or you may accidentally fall
off your skateboard. The event ends when you suffer three falls, or you
slow down to a stop.

The
second event is the Footbag. For 1 minute and 15 seconds you
need to juggle a small ball with your feet and head and you need to do
as many kicks and stunts as you can. The more tough the stunt, the more
points you score. Occasionally a seagull will fly by, and nailing it
with the footbag will also net you some bonus points. Don't forget to
also mix up your tricks. At the end of the event you get a variety
bonus, so don't just do half-axles for the full 1:15.

Event
#3 is Surfing. You have to ride the waves for 1 minute and 30
seconds while staying ahead of an approaching tidal wave. During your
ride you can try to catch some air and do some aerial turns. If you
land incorrectly or go off the bottom of the screen, you'll wipe
out. Your run ends if you wipe out four times or you reach the time
limit. After you finish, a panel of five judges will grade your run, and
the average becomes your score. Beware about wiping out, Jaws just may
make an appearance!

Next
is Rollerskating. You have to skate down a boardwalk just
crawling with various obstacles, such as beach balls, cracks in the
sidewalk, sand, banana peels and others. As you skate you can duck,
jump and steer around anything in your path. You score points for
steering around every obstacle in your way, you get more for jumping
over them, and if you do a spin jump over them, that's even more
points. You can fall three times, but your run ends after the third
fall.

Following
that is BMX Bike Racing. You have 2 minutes to ride your bike
to the end of a BMX course, which also has obstacles. As you ride you
have to avoid the obstacles while performing various stunts for points,
such as flips and turns. When you perform stunts, you need to remember
to land in a centered position or you'll crash. You're allowed three
"easy" falls or one "serious" fall before you're out of the race. If
you flip and fall on your head, it's a serious fall! Usually the game
says "Too Bad Hotshot" if this occurs. Finishing the course in time will
net you bonus points for every second left on the clock.

Finally
the last event is the Flying Disc. You basically throw a
Frisbee to your partner. When you begin you have to use a gauge to set
up your throw. Once you launch the disc, your partner has to catch it
for you to score points. You get points for both the throw and the
catch. Accuracy counts; you get the most points if your partner can
catch the disc right where he's standing. If he has to run toward the
disc, you won't get as many points. You get three throws.

After
each event, the top three finishers are awarded trophies, earning them
place points. Obviously 1st place gets you the most place points. At
the end of the game, the person with the most place points is the
California Games Champion! At least until you play again.

Now
for the breakdown between the NES and Sega versions:

California Games NES (1989 Milton Bradley)
This is a very good port of the C64 original. The graphics are pretty
good. The backgrounds are okay, and the sprites are large with decent
animation. The background music is pretty catchy, especially during the
Surfing event when you hear a rendition of "Wipeout." The sound effects
are minimal but you won't really miss them. The controls take some
practice, especially since each event requires a different skill, but for
the most part they work really well. The big thing about this game is
that there's no computer opponents; if you play by yourself, you're
competing alone, and that's not much fun. It's better to play with two
or more players for some real competition.

California Games SMS (1989 Sega)
Sega's version is also a respectable port. As good as the NES's
graphics were, the Sega version totally tops them. All of the
backgrounds and characters have a bit more detail to them, plus this
version has some stuff you won't find in the NES version, especially in
the surfing event (you actually see the judges holding up scorecards,
while the NES version just shows a billboard with the scores). However,
once again the sounds knock the Sega carts down a few pegs. The
background music sounds watered down and is not as enjoyable as the NES version. The controls are a mixed bag; they're easy to use in the
skating and surfing events, but the others take a LOT of practice to
get down, especially in the footbag event. Again there's no computer
opponents, so playing alone there's no challenge. The Sega cart has two
other options not found in the NES version: Compete in One Event and
View Title Screen, but both don't seem to be of much use.

Analysis
Another close contest. While it's easy to simply say that the NES
version won hands down, both ports are top notch and very close to the
original. The Sega version is a good port, if you can live with the
somewhat frustrating controls. But the NES version will once again take
home the trophy this round.

Winner:
NES

But
again both games are worth adding to your respective collection(s).
Just remember to always play this game with friends, and not by
yourself. It's no fun winning a one-man competition; you have no one to
brag to.

When
Alan first suggested doing a "Summer Games" themed issue of RTM I
instantly started looking through my extensive VIC 20 collection for a
heap of sports games to review. So imagine my surprise when I couldn't
find one single sports game. I have just over 100 carts and dozens of
tapes, but no sports games. The closest to a sports game I found was a
pretty bad Scuba Diving game called "Sharks", and an extremely simple
text based golf game, but I just don't think these really count.

So
I turned to the mighty "Cartzilla" to see if Ward Shrake has a sports
game mentioned within his enormous list of Vic 20 carts. Again I came
up empty.

I
have exhausted my limited resources and have found no sports games for
the Vic 20. This has left me with the question, "are there any sports
games that were made for the Vic 20?" So I am sending out a call to all
Vic 20 fans who read RTM - do you have any sports games in your game
collection? Drop me an email and I will make mention of the games in an
up-coming issue of RTM.

So,
with no Vic 20 sports games to review, I did the next best thing...

In
Australia the most popular Summer sport is Cricket. Terms such as
"Hitting a six" or "Bowling a maiden over" may seem like mumbo-jumbo to
many, but to those readers of RTM who come from Australia, England, New
Zealand or South Africa, cricket isn't just a summer sport, it is a way
of life. For Australians there is nothing better than beating the Poms
in the Ashes. There is nothing better than chanting out "Come on Aussie
- come on!" There is nothing better than seeing Warney bowl his
flipper. There is nothing better than hearing "No ball" when
Muralitharan "chucks" another ball down the wicket.

Over
the years there have been quite a few cricket games made for various
consoles and home computers. When it comes to the classic era, the
Commodore 64 is the machine that can boast the most cricket games (with
the possible exception of the ZX Spectrum). So put some zinc cream on
your nose, slap on your terry-towelling hat and get ready to learn a
little about cricket games on the Commodore 64.

ALLAN BORDER'S CRICKET, Audiogenic, 1993
This is possibly the best cricket game available for the Commodore 64.
It features very good graphics with great animation of the players. You
would expect this game to look good as it came out very late. There are
lots of options and you can even create your very own cricket team. An
added interest to Australian gamers is that the game also features the
PURA Cup fixture (This is the Australian domestic series played by all
the states. It goes by its old name, the Sheffield Shield). In England
this game is also known as "Graham Gooch's Cricket". Allan Border was
the captain of the Australian cricket team, while Gooch was the captain
of England.

IAN BOTHAM'S TEST MATCH, Arm Chair Entertainment, 1986
Ian Botham was one of the most colourful cricketers to ever play the
game. Plus he was also a brilliant player - or at least as brilliant as
an English player could ever be [J]. This game has all the features you
would expect, but is mainly let down by some average graphics. This is
understandable due to the game coming out fairly early in the Commodore
64's life (1984), but it just makes it seem nowhere near as good as
Allan Border's Cricket. Being an older game it might be fairly
difficult to find, but it was re-released as part of the compilation
"Game Set and Match 2" put out by Ocean.

Allan Border's Cricket

Ian Botham's Test Match

WORLD CRICKET, Zeppelin Games, 1992
World Cricket is a cricket management game. Instead of actually
controlling the batsmen or bowlers, you play the role of team "coach"
or "manager". It is a more statistic based game with some good elements
of strategy. As the game progresses all the players are given
statistics based on how well they played. This enables you to know who
is playing well or poorly so you can ensure you select the best team
for the most important matches. The best option in the game is the
ability to save your game. A whole Test Series can take a long time, so
you can save the game and continue the series at another time. Graphics
are very good, with everything well presented.

ONE DAY CRICKET (aka World Cup Cricket), International
Software, 1985
Actual One Day Cricket revolutionized the game of Cricket. Instead of
waiting five long days for a game to still end in a draw, One Day
Cricket gave a faster and more entertaining spectacle with a guaranteed
winner by the end of the day. Sadly the same can't be said about this
game. The main letdown is the very bland graphics. Most things are
well defined, but very limited colour (purple pitch???) and monochrome
sprites make the game look dull. It makes me think this game was
originally made for the ZX Spectrum and simply ported to the 64.

World Cricket

One Day Cricket

CRICKET 64, CRL Group PLC, 1984
This is the oldest cricket game for the Commodore 64 I could find,
coming out just a year after the C64's release. This probably explains
why Cricket 64 looks just so bad. The game is so basic, from the tiny
monochrome graphics to the very simple gameplay. As far as I can tell,
it was programmed in BASIC.

CRICKET CAPTAIN, Hi-Tech Software, 1990
Cricket Captain is another management game where you play the role of
Captain of a cricket team. I don't own a copy of the game, so I can't
make too many comments. The game seems to be based on the England
Domestic competition. Graphics have a Spectrumesque look about them,
right down to the colour clash.

Cricket 64

Cricket Captain

CRICKET CRAZY, Alternative Software, 1988
Cricket Crazy surely must win an award for the most bizarre sports game
ever. In fact it shouldn't really called a sports game at all. Cricket
Crazy is in fact a text adventure based around the theme of a cricket
tour. Some simple graphics illustrate the adventure while you type in
commands such as "get bat", "get ball", "hit Botham over the head". If
you like text adventures you might really enjoy the game.

CRICKET INTERNATIONAL, Alternative Software, 1988
A fairly basic game that lacks the options of many of the better
cricket games. Team options are limited to making up your own team or
playing as England against a world eleven. Graphics are very blocky and
reasonably ugly. One funny aspect of this game is that you can make
your bowler run into the umpire. This obviously results in a no ball,
but it always puts a bit of a grin on my face.

Cricket Crazy

Cricket International

A
brief look at some Commodore 64 sites may reveal a few more cricket
games, but these are just the ones that I have in my collection. For
more information on these cricket games and a few more, as well as
dozens and dozens of other sports games for the Commodore 64, check out
the brilliant web site, Stadium 64 (s64.emuunlim.com/gameinfos/gameinfos.htm).

Hi
everyone!! I'm new here to Retrogaming Times Monthly. My name is Gary
Pierce and most of you might know me as Youltar. I'll be doing reviews every month on
the Sega Master System and have been a Sega Master System addict since
about 1988 when I received my first one for Christmas. Double
Dragon, Ghostbusters and Thunderblade were the first games I owned, so
I am a bit partial to liking those. I've massed a fairly big collection
over the years and the reviews I will be doing are on games I actually
own and have beaten. I will also be using a simple 5 star rating, with 1 star being poor and 5 stars being being perfect.
Anything rated 4 or better is a definite must have for the Sega addict
inside of you! So on with the review!!! This month I will be reviewing Reggie
Jackson Baseball, which is a game I used to play A LOT in my
youth. There's nothing better than beating the pants off your best friend and
his precious Minnesota Twin's.

GRAPHICS:
The graphics used in Reggie Jackson Baseball are some of the best there
are on the Sega Master System. The batter is drawn great, as is the
pitcher and the little animations between innings. The crowd is drawn
kind of poorly, they look more like flashing colors than people.

SOUND:
The sound is very well done. The voices in the game are
very clear and understandable which adds quite a bit to the environment.
Although, when you hit a homerun you get the same sound over and over which tends to
get a bit tedious when hitting out of the park a lot. The music is ok,
but like most video game music it grows on you.

GAMEPLAY:
This is where the game really shines through. There are 4 different
modes of play along with American and National League teams. There is a
fantastic tournament mode where, if you're good enough, you can play in
the World Series. You can even send in relief pitchers and pinch hitters!
I'm also very pleased with the batter control. You have a lot of control
over the amount of swing the batter has. You can step in or out and
bunt or swing...it's all here! The pitching is ok, you almost have too
much control though. Once the pitch is off you can move the
D-pad in any direction and the ball will move accordingly on its way to
the plate. This can make for a very different style of gameplay,
depending on who you may be playing. Once the ball has been hit the
outfield takes over. The control is very cut and dry for playing
defense, hold the button in and press the D-pad in correspondence to the
diamond and that's it.

OVERALL:
At least a few more sound effects for home-runs would have been nice.
With the solid gameplay and fantastic graphics I still believe it to
be one of the best 2 player games the Master System has to offer. A
definite must own for your SMS collection! 4/5 Stars!!

Video Games Lyrics to Pop
Songs: "Track & Field"

by Alan Hewston

Bang
The "Runs" All Day
New Lyrics by : Alan Hewston
where "Runs" = Run buttons

I
don't want to work
I want to bang on the "Runs" all day
I don't want to learn
I just want to play Track & Field all day

Ever
since I was grade school slick
I don't want no track ball
Don't need no joystick
I pressed all the buttons at my local arcade
and then I bang on the "Runs" 'til I got
Blisters on my hand because

[Refrain
repeats]

Every
day when I have bad grades
I feel so frustrated
There's no more arcades
So I turn on my Atari or my 64
and then I pound my Track & Field controller & roll up the
score
Because

[Refrain
repeats]

When
I got older took my Game Boy to school
The teacher told me I should stay after school
She caught me pounding those buttons with my hands
But my scores were so hot
I made the teacher wanna dance
And that's why

[Refrain
repeats]

I
can bang that Track & Field controller
Hey, you wanna take a bang at it?
I can do this all day

Game Over

Time
to bring this issue to a close. We're not done with our focus on
Olympic video games, this is just the end of Part 1. Next month the
festivities will resume, and we'll have plenty more articles on summer
sports gaming. Until next month, remember to keep banging on the
buttons and always go for the gold!